Star Track: Mandy White

August 03, 2010

Mandy White, whose father Howard's roots are firmly in Hampton, is making their family proud as a track athlete at the University of Oregon. The Ducks' home track is Hayward Field, one of the most historic athletic venues in the U.S. – think of the movie "Pre," featuring legendary Oregon distance runner Steve Prefontaine. White's dad, Howard, a Kecoughtan High graduate and former Maryland Terrapins point guard from 1970-73, is the vice president of Nike's Jordan Brand, a former Nike liaison for star athletes and the founder of the Oregon-based company's "Believe to Achieve" youth movement. Howard White was chosen in the 1973 NBA draft by the Washington Bullets but has gone on to have far more success as a leader off the court. Mandy, meanwhile, athletically has come into her own in Eugene, Ore., where she is a rising senior. White became the first women's 100-meter All-American in Ducks history, finishing 10th at the NCAA championships in a wind-aided, personal-best 11.42 seconds. She also ran a leg on a 400 relay that placed third in 43.74 at the NCAAs. She guided the Ducks to the Pacific-10 Conference meet crown, running the lead leg of the 400 relay as Oregon clocked a school- and meet-record time of 43.27 seconds. She took fourth in the 100 meters at the Pac-10 meet in 11.79 after clocking 11.71 in the preliminaries. White attended Lakeridge High in Lake Oswego, Ore., where she won state championships in the 100 and 200 meters and frequently placed at state in other events, as well as participating on a competition cheerleading squad. She is majoring in business administration at Oregon.